Photographs and Articles by Tim Wolverson

Hanbury Road, Pontypool

Hanbury Road, Pontypool

This ephemeral image is a montage of two photographs taken from the same spot on Hanbury Road, Pontypool, but more than one hundred years apart.

Hanbury Road, Pontypool, Wales | A Montage of Two Photographs Taken 100 Years Apart

The black and white street view was taken during a quiet time in 1914 and merged with my colour image taken in January 2015.

This particular view, with Mount Pleasant Church on the left, looks towards the clock tower of Pontypool Town Hall. On the right of the image, a tall stone wall that kept the Hanbury gardens private has since been removed to provide a location for the town’s war memorial, access to Pontypool park and for transport stopping points.

Mount Pleasant Church and the View Down Hanbury Road, Pontypool, Wales.

Mount Pleasant Church and the View Down Hanbury Road, Pontypool, Wales.

I MUST try this. (How did you do it?) I have a photo of my Dad taken on the beach in Southwold during WWII and one of me at the same location, which I asked a complete stranger to take, in 1998. I’d love to make a composite.

Hi Bunty.
I made this image with Photoshop. The old and new photographs were converted to layers and aligned. I used the eraser tool to remove part of the top layer, revealing part of the image beneath. Decreasing the transparency of the top layer helped to see what lay beneath so I could erase with some sort of accuracy.

Hope this helps.

Feel free to contact me if you need more help. I’d be happy to provide more details if you need them.